Amazon is reportedly working on a home robot

Amazon is reportedly working on its first robot for the home. The project has been given the internal codename "Vesta," like the Roman goddess of the hearth. It's being developed by Lab126, the Amazon hardware R&D center that previously built the Kindle, Fire Phone, and Echo.

The project has apparently been in the works for a number of years, but things are finally starting to take off, as the company is actively looking for a number of gigs in and around robotics, with titles like "Software Engineer, Robotics."

It's not entirely clear what the robot would do, but there are speculations that it could be Alexa on wheels, allowing people to bring Amazon's voice assistant with them around the home. Prototypes of the gadget include advanced cameras and computer vision software to let a robot autonomously move around the home.

Amazon already has a track record of successfully deploying robots in industrial applications, thanks to its 2012 acquisition of Kiva Systems. The report says Amazon is looking to test Vesta in employees' homes by the end of this year and release them for consumers as early as next year.

An Amazon spokesperson said the company doesn't comment on "rumors and speculation."